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Saturday, September 22, 2012

This week I'm including historical music from both ancient history and from the 1960s with the overall mission of bringing more peace to the planet. We need to return to the spirit of the 1960s, but without the drugs and space out. I'm thinking of in particular combining internet connections with the Unity Consciousness, rainbow consciousness, and expansiveness of the 1960s baby boomers because we need reach out and connect to people of different religious, ethnic, and national backgrounds in a peaceful way. We must build bridges and practice inclusiveness.The planet, all its creatures, and humanity will not survive if we don't place aside our differences and come together in commonality. John Lennon is right to imagine this kind of world and I joined him along time ago with a similar vision. What about you? Will you join us too and create a circle of humanity on the planet that includes all species?

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Missing the boat on the
duets of Mahsa Vahdat (Iran) and Mighty Sam McClain (US blues) 2009
album, Scent of Reunion, I’m coming
on a board with a new album of love duets, A
Deeper Tone of Longing.Featuring
Farsi poetry by Mohammad Ibrahim Jafari and English poetry by founder of
Kirkelig Kulterverksted, Erik Hillestad poetry almost eclipses the passionate
vocals and musical arrangements by Knut Reiersrud (a Norwegian bluesman).Actually, when you look at the musicians on
this album, it feels like KKV brought in the whole team in fusing blues with
Iranian classical music--something that looks like an impossible dream on the
surface, but succeeds.

When You Came
shows off the bluesy side of the equation until a lonely ney (Iranian reed
flute) comes in followed by Vahdat’s haunting vocals.The song even features Reiersrud signature guitar
coupled with McLain’s southern back porch voice. Nobody features a warmer
sound with acoustic guitar and jazz drums with folk vocals.Even though American blues has fused to
African blues and even traditional music of India in recent decades, here the
two sounds, (blues and Iranian music), appear side-by-side, alternating from
one tradition to the other, but never actually wedding to the other.The singers alternate their vocal tracks, and
we never hear vocal harmonies, but we do hear Mathias Eick’s jazz trumpet harmonizing
with Vahdat on Nobody.

If it weren’t for the ney
shadowing McClain’s voice on Two Jewels
intro, we might think we’re hearing Otis Redding.Then Vahdat delivers heartfelt vocals that
send us traveling back to Iran.That is
until the blues harmonica plays peek-a-boo.And while I won’t give you a play-by-play of the 10 tracks that appear
on A Deeper Tone of Longing, stay
tuned for some lovely surprises, especially, if you’re wondering about the
crossroads where American blues and Iranian classical music meet.

So often we turn to Cuban
music when exploring music of the Caribbean and don’t get me wrong, Cuban music
possesses splendid qualities, combining the best of Afro-Latin and Spanish
music traditions.Even the Puerto Ricans
in New York City turned towards Cuban music when they launched salsa
music.However, now that I’m listening
to a traditional recording of Puerto Rican music called bomba by the group
Hijos de Agüeybaná (Agua delSol), I can’t understand why these delicious Afro-Latin dance rhythms
haven’t enjoyed the same popularity as Cuban son, even if these rhythms along
with Puerto Rican plena and Dominican merengue appear in salsa alongside the
Afro-Cuban beats. To think that my grandmother might have danced to bomba when she was a child growing up in Puerto Rico, warms my heart.

With the call and response
vocals, especially on the titular track, I bet there are listeners who would
confuse bomba with Cuban son. Te Invito could be mistaken for Calypso,
and Ven Ven and No me dejes solo for Cuban rumba of Santaría (a religion that
combines Christian saints with Yoruba gods).To confuse matters further, the musicians combine bomba with salsa and
jazz on this recording.If you’re
looking for drum-centered music with call & response vocals that cause your
hips to move against your will, pick up this recording.Learn a new dance--Agua del Sol is available on September 25.

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About Me

I am a musician, instructor, novelist and veteran arts journalist with an interest in the healing powers of music. I am the author of Whole Music (Soul Food for the Mind Body Spirit). I launched The Whole Music Experience in 2007 to promote the healing potential of mainly traditional and classical music. I started teaching music awareness workshops in 2009.
I also post articles on World Music Central and contribute to print publications.
I believe that high vibrational music heals individuals and communities through cultural exchange, music preservation and music therapy. Music, similar to prayer and meditation moves us to a place deep within us, thus promoting peace, but it depends on the music too.
I've published articles in Global Rhythm, World Music Central, Early Music America, Skagit Valley Herald "A & E Monthly," and other fine music publications.

Endorsement for a Whole Music Experience workshop

I took the “Developing a Healthy Music Diet” class in winter quarter and had a great time with it. The musical examples Patricia provided in class were diverse and stimulating. The experiential part was easy to manage and I achieved a beneficial result for my health and well-being – releasing a stress pattern and obtaining restful sleep for the first time in many weeks!

I recommend this class to anyone who is interested in expanding and enriching their consciousness of how the music they listen to, or could be listening to, affects their quality of life, or to anyone who works in a healing profession and utilizes environmental music or sound as a complementary modality. I also highly recommend visiting Patricia’s expansive blog on healing music (The Whole Music Experience). ---Allan Tamm

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To St. Francesco & St. Chiara of Assisi

May we all lift our voices in songs of joy & treat all creatureswith love & respect.

Disclaimer:

This blog is meant to suggests ideas and projectsthat might be healing to a community or an individual.If readers have a specific health problem,the advice is to see a qualified health provider.What works for one person, might not for another.

This blog features an array of healing musicfrom community projects, cultural preservationto sound healing.